Alco Wins Grant for Female-Owned Small Businesses

NEWS RELEASE

Alco Sales Home and Commercial Hardware, a local family Aggie owned company, which is woman majority owned, received a $10,000 grant from the Center for Women Entrepreneurs at Texas Woman’s University. The center for Women Entrepreneurs awarded $1 million in grants to women-owned small businesses in Texas suffering financial losses associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The $10,000 AssistHER grants were awarded this month to 100 businesses across the state and are being used for operating expenses, technology upgrades and for help adapting to new business models. Business owners had to demonstrate that they were adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to be eligible for the grants. More than 5,000 women business owners applied for the grants beginning in late March.

Alco Sales offers door, cabinet, bath and kitchen hardware as well as interior and exterior doors and was founded in January of 2013 by Dr. Larry Roderick (’91), Diana Roderick, Michelle Roderick Taylor, Jessie Taylor (’88), and Brett Roderick (’91). When Larry passed away in 2017, the business had to make some changes and overcome some obstacles but has persevered and grown.

Alco Sales believes are the most important things they have to offer are great customer services and competitive prices. The staff has always gone out of the way to take care of their customers whether they buy a house full of hardware or one door knob. This has not changed during the Covid-19 issues.

According to Diana Roderick, “We were in a tough place as are so many other local businesses. The AssistHer grant came at a time when some of our customers were having difficulty paying us. This grant along with the Payroll Protection Program allowed us to keep our full staff without layoffs and pay our vendors. We are so grateful to have been selected out of 5000 deserving applicants.”

Alco Sales website is www.alcohomehardware.com and their phone number is (979)690-2735.